Slavery in the Thai fishing industry

[Oliver]

The Guardian has done us all a favour again by reporting this scandal.

http://www.theguardian.com/global-devel ... s-rohingya (http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/jul/20/thai-fishing-industry-implicated-enslavement-deaths-rohingya)

[latintopxxx]

...oh honestly...not another sob story...

[Up2U]

The Guardian has done us all a favour again by reporting this scandal.

http://www.theguardian.com/global-devel ... s-rohingya (http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/jul/20/thai-fishing-industry-implicated-enslavement-deaths-rohingya)
An excellent report and thanks for posting. Kudos to the Guardian for their investigative reporting.

...oh honestly...not another sob story...Never a story about the wickedness of Hamas from our Olly, I note. On the other hand Oliver seems happy to travel to a Third World country in order to exploit the population for his own sexual gratification without a shadow on his bleeding heart.

[Oliver]

A disturbing video.

http://www.theguardian.com/global-devel ... rape-video (http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/video/2015/jul/20/thailand-fishing-industry-rohingya-trafficking-slavery-rape-video)

[latintopxxx]

ah yes, all so disturbing, but what amazes me is that they all know this is going on but they keep hopping onto the boats knowing full well that their chances of being well treated are zero. So whats next, asylum in the UK on full benefit...and when they grow up they turn on the hand that feeds them and blow up buses...so tired of all these cardigan wearing, tree hugging lefty liberal spongers.

[thaiguest]

The EU has give Thailand a yellow card re exporting fish into the region and a red card is about to follow if Thailand doesn't clean up it's fishing act.
But from what I can see the main issue with the EU has to do with illegal fishing gear and unsustainability in the Thai fishing industry NOT slavery.
While part of me is a bleeding-heart liberal I'm getting more and more sceptical about reports such as this one in The Guardian.
It's very strong on emotive generalisation but very wolly on real evidence linking Thailand with the fishjng slave trade.
Looks like to me that this journalist has just done pieces on the sex-trade, animal rights etc whereby the same limited vocabulary base can be rehashed over and over again as copy deadlines approach.

[Brad the Impala]

Such sympathy and compassion for others' plight on this forum!

[goji]

So whats next, asylum in the UK on full benefit...and when they grow up they turn on the hand that feeds them and blow up buses...so tired of all these cardigan wearing, tree hugging lefty liberal spongers.
I have the same view. People with a certain specific set of beliefs seem to be much more likely to bite the hand that feeds them. So why would anyone want more of them moving in?

Just to be clear, I'm not endorsing slavery, Thailand should put a stop to that (if there is any truth in the report). Equally, they shouldn't have to cope with mass uncontrolled immigration.

Meanwhile, we in Europe should spend some time looking after our own national security as well & make sure the only people moving in are those who can be relied upon to behave.

The Thai journalist who exposed and helped rescue Thai nationals "enslaved" on Indonesian vessels was praised as a true patriot. The same journalist then exposed how Thai vessels are enslaving other nationals and has been excoriated as a traitor to Thailand

Thailand is not the West, and all those posters who breathe sighs of relief and mutter "thank god", "democracy and Thailand are incompatible" and other such shibboleths can't expect anything else when their beloved paradise doesn't measure up to their Western standards

[fountainhall]

Thailand is not the West, and all those posters who breathe sighs of relief and mutter "thank god", "democracy and Thailand are incompatible" and other such shibboleths can't expect anything else when their beloved paradise doesn't measure up to their Western standards

I fail to understand how enslaving foreign nationals on ships has much to do with democracy and Western standards. Sure, a responsible government should be passing laws to prevent this. But given that in Thailand there appears to be a general view amongst the population that the Rohingya problem is anything but theirs, it's unlikely in my view that democracy would go anywhere near to solving the problem.

But I do agree this human slavery is one of the ugly parts of life, not just in Thailand and Indonesia but in quite a few other parts of the world. It was actually CNN that broke this fishing story several weeks before The Guardian. That documentary included two guys telling the interviewer that if the Indonesian ship owners decided the 'slave' workers were not working hard enough, they'd puncture their throats before throwing them over the side.

Human depravity on this horrific scale has much more to do with greed (and capitalism?) than it does democracy.

Democracy at its best is open and transparent, holding everyone accountable for their actions. Places that have truly independent courts and designated anti-corruption commissions, whistleblower protection ... None of that applies to Thailand

[Brad the Impala]

Democracy at its best is open and transparent, holding everyone accountable for their actions. Places that have truly independent courts and designated anti-corruption commissions, whistleblower protection ... None of that applies to Thailand

Agree completely. Thank heavens for the liberal PC Guardian readers.

[fountainhall]

Democracy at its best is open and transparent, holding everyone accountable for their actions. Places that have truly independent courts and designated anti-corruption commissions, whistleblower protection ... None of that applies to Thailand

Indeed it does not. But when almost the entire Thai population is against taking the Rohingya in to the country, I cannot see any elected Thai government agreeing to do so. Democracy would have nothing to do with the issue. A massive swell of public sentiment would.

Indeed it does not. But when almost the entire Thai population is against taking the Rohingya in to the country, I cannot see any elected Thai government agreeing to do so. Democracy would have nothing to do with the issue. A massive swell of public sentiment would.Suddenly we've moved from slavery in a specific industry to questions of refugees generally!

[latintopxxx]

if they r really refugees why dont they move to Bangladesh, a nice welcoming muslim country, an sure they will be welcomed !!

[Oliver]

The Bangladeshis won't accept them because their homes are in Burma. And they are fleeing Burma because they are subjected to ethnic-cleansing there. Their homes have been burnt, their women raped and thousands killed. That is why they are desperate enough to attempt perilous sea crossings. One poster seems to think that they are doing it for fun.
Those who are in dire need, even if they are dark-skinned, poor and of a different faith, are worthy of compassion.

[Brad the Impala]

Thai officials among more than 100 charged with human trafficking

Army general, politicians and police among those charged after dozens of bodies, believed to be of migrants, exhumed from abandoned camps.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/24/thai-officials-among-more-than-100-charged-with-human-trafficking

[latintopxxx]

oliver, u seem to simply gloss over the " fact" that bangladesh will not accept hem because their home is myanmar?!?! and thats fine??? right??? maybe its time their co-religionists actually stepped in and did something...just anything.\??!!

oliver, u seem to simply gloss over the " fact" that bangladesh will not accept hem because their home is myanmar?!?! and thats fine??? right??? maybe its time their co-religionists actually stepped in and did something...just anything.\??!!
Glossing over, eh? What's your definition of "co-religionist"? Are they both Sunnis or Shi'ites (each hates the other) or some other sub sect of Islam? I suspect there are still Baptists who hate Roman Catholics. Have you forgotten 30 years of "Troubles" in Northern Ireland? Why should religious similarities provide a solution?

[Brad the Impala]

Overview
Bangladesh is an impoverished country of over 160 million people. In its short history as an independent nation, Bangladesh has faced a major civil war, massive internal displacement, famines and frequent natural disasters. In addition, Bangladesh is hosting over 200,000 Rohingya refugees from Burma in the eastern region.

Current Humanitarian Situation
The Rohingya ethnic minority of Burma is one of the most persecuted and at the same time one of the largest stateless groups in the world. Stripped of their citizenship by the Burmese government in 1982 and forced to flee by violent military campaigns and sustained persecution since at least the 1940s, over one million Rohingya live in exile. They are the only ethnic group in Burma restricted in marriage, traveling beyond their village or building or maintaining religious structures.

About 29,000 Rohingya live in official refugee camps in Bangladesh, where they are assisted by UNHCR and NGOs, and are not legally permitted to work or go outside the camps. Another 200,000 Rohingya refugees reside in unofficial camps or Bangladeshi villages where there is no legal protection from arrest or abuse and little to no humanitarian assistance. These unregistered refugees live a hand-to-mouth existence тАУ only marginally worse off than the host population. Humanitarian needs continue to grow for Rohingya refugees. In one unofficial camp, malnutrition rates are twice the emergency threshold. The lack of assistance for both unregistered refugees and host communities have increased tensions over scarce resources such as water and firewood, leading to physical and sexual violence against refugees, particularly women and girls. There is little security for undocumented refugees and no access to the police or justice system.

https://www.refintl.org/where-we-work/asia/bangladesh

[Oliver]

Like Brad, I was intrigued by the suggestion that Bangladesh "do something" to help their "co-religionists." I wonder if this should also apply to Christian countries (like the UK....ok , in name only!) welcoming Christian victims of persecution and famine from Africa?
I suspect not; after all, Africans fleeing persecution are also likely to be dark-skinned and poor. Not the sort of people that some posters wish to have living next door.

Come to think of it, it was only a few months ago that our government stopped rescue missions in the Mediterranean on the grounds that saving families from drowning encouraged other desperate people to try to cross the sea.

[Smiles]

Who are "some posters" Ollie?

[fountainhall]

Suddenly we've moved from slavery in a specific industry to questions of refugees generally!

No, you moved from the issue from slavery/refugees to the lack of democracy in Thailand, the implication being that a fully democratic Thailand would find a solution to the problem. It wouldn't! Using Bismarck's oft-quoted maxim, politics is the art of the possible. When you have a population of 65+ million Thais, the vast majority of whom want nothing to do with the Rohingya people, a fully democratic Thai government would hardly be in any position of solve the slavery problem.

... a fully democratic Thai government would hardly be in any position of solve the slavery problem.
I always find it interesting when (usually white) guys who grew up in a democratic society decide that other (usually brown or black people) are not suited to democracy. It used to be known as colonialism when paternalists decided what was best for their inferiors.

[billyhouston]

[attachment=0:xgd7jw6h]Guardian (Medium).jpg[/attachment:xgd7jw6h]

[Oliver]

The New York Times is covering this story today.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/27/world ... v=top-news (http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/27/world/outlaw-ocean-thailand-fishing-sea-slaves-pets.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=photo-spot-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news)

[billyhouston]

The New York Times has also had some of the best coverage of the Rohingya situation, for example:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/06/world/asia/myanmar-rohingya-refugee-crisis-malaysia.html

though I'm not sure if this is available to non-subscribers.

Research, largely in The Netherlands, has shown that the Rohingya, though originally from Bengal, were brought as slaves by the Arakanese as early as the 16th century.

[Dodger]

Right after the New York Times aires the article posted in the link above the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry goes live on TV annoncing the fact that Malaysia has been elevated off the bottom of the so-called Trade Black List and Thailand remains on the bottom of the list which has Thailand pissed off.

Amazing how one major news source can be telling people about how bad the human trafficing problem is directly involving Malaysia and at the same time saying conditions are improving. It's obviously a political manuveur not having anything whatsoever to do with the subject of human trafficing...nothing new here.

See Kerry's bullshit here:

http://news.yahoo.com/malaysia-cuba-tak ... itics.html (http://news.yahoo.com/malaysia-cuba-taken-off-us-human-trafficking-blacklist-130105875--politics.html)

[latintopxxx]

Interesting, so he was pissed off that the wife left home because it would cost more to house and feed her and the family. So its not safe or ok for him to stay behind, but ok fior the wife and kids. Dunno, but seems like it cant be that dangerous or bad back home...guess she has to ham it up for the cameras/newspapers or she will not be allowed to stay. Seems like the malaysians and indonesians are onto them....
And in the other story thet freely admit that many freely sign up to work on boats but then make up stories when they change their minds or want better pay....typical?!
As for the young guys on the boats...once they turn 18 there are good jobs in sunnee/boyztown/jomtien waiting for them....